32 MDGs SCORECARD We must think outside the box in fresh anti-poverty global agenda UN Gene≥al Assembly boss is pushing fo≥ a change of mindset and new means of financing By JULIUS BARIGABA Special Correspondent Kutesa completes his one-year tenure as president of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly next month, among the things he will be remembered for is his push for the adoption of the new global anti-poverty agenda. Over the past year, Mr W Kutesa has been pressing for a change of mindset and new means of financing for the action-oriented post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, which are to replace the Millennium Development Goals. “We need to think outside the box and find alternative means of financing if we want the post 2015 development agenda to be transformative,” he said. While the MDGs, adopted in the year 2000 helped to reduce poverty rates and inequality, Mr Kutesa, says they failed on most targets because the developing world relied on aid to finance their implementation. The eight goals sought to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development. It is expected that the three key summits in this calendar year — the Third International Conference on Financing for Development that took place from July 13-16 in Addis Ababa, the UN Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda due in September in New York, and the COP21 UN Conference on Climate Change due from November 30-December 11 in Paris — will chart a way forward for achieving the 17 SDGs. However, the “Addis Ababa Action Agenda,” the blueprint adopted at the Addis conference, makes no mention of new resources to fund the investments needed to end poverty by 2030. A slum in Nairobi, where poverty levels remain high. Picture: File According to Romilly Greenhill, team leader for development finance at the UKbased Overseas Development Institute, while the document does not provide new commitments to increase the share of aid allocated to least developed countries, it is helpful in setting the framework for action. “It sets out key priorities in terms of financing the sustainable development goals,” said Ms Greenhill at the Addis summit. Countries will have to look within their own boundaries to mobilise resources by, for example, widening the revenue base, improving tax collection and combating tax evasion and illicit financial flows. The financing gaps for sus- tainable development across the globe are daunting. The UN estimates that in MDGs failed on most targets because we relied on aid to implement them.” Sam Kutesa, president, UN General Assembly order for the world to surpass the accomplishments of the MDGs by wiping out extreme poverty (defined as the proportion of the population living on less than $1.25 a day), additional financing in the range of $135 billion to $195 billion is required per year, and between $5 and $7 trillion is needed for investments in critical infrastructure. For the private sector, es- pecially small and medium enterprises, which form the bulk of the developing world’s businesses, the unmet credit needs are estimated at around $2.5 trillion in developing countries and about $3.5 trillion globally. “The level of partnership for development will have to be expanded to tap into other resources such as sovereign wealth funds and pension SUSTAINABLE GOALS 1 End poverty in all its forms everywhere 2 End hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being for all at all ages 4 Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 5 Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 6 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 7 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 8 Promote sustained and inclusive economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all 9 Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation 10 Reduce inequality within and among funds to finance long term strategic investments particularly in infrastructure development,” said Mr Kutesa. “It will also be essential to mainstream private sector and civil society participation, and establish partnerships with other philanthropic organisations.” The Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Dr Mukhisa Kituyi concurs, saying that for the world to achieve the SDGs, it must deal with impediments such as the lack of infrastructure and financing for SMEs, while working on partnerships and synergies that will deliver growth and end poverty. “For sub-Saharan Africa to emerge from poverty, it should countries 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development 15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss 16 Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development Source: www.un.org not just repeat China’s economic miracle of the past 20 years; it must better it in the next 20 years,” he said. The impact of climate change on the other hand, is critical because it has the potential of reversing the gains made with the MDGs. Last year, during the Confer- ence of Parties in Lima, Peru Mr Kutesa called for collective political will and financing to address the challenge when the world gathers to craft a legally binding deal in Paris. “Increasing financing for climate change technologies, including investment in renewable clean technologies, will be critical for many developing countries,” he said. Residents of Lodwar in arid northern Kenya carry relief food. Picture: File hen Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sam The EastAfrican OUTLOOK AUGUST 8-14,2015 Post-2015 ta≥gets ≥eady fo≥ adoption By CHRISTABEL LIGAMI Special Correspondent THE NEW development agenda dubbed Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, has been approved by the United Nations. The 17 goals and 169 targets were passed on August 2 in New York, and will be formally adopted at the UN Summit in September. The adoption of the sustainable development goals is the culmination of seven months of intergovernmental negotiations that began in December last year. “This is the people’s agenda, a plan of action for ending poverty in all its dimensions, irreversibly, everywhere and leaving no one behind,” said UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon. “It seeks to ensure peace and prosperity, and forge partnerships with people and the planet.” The 2030 Agenda for Sustain- able Development will guide the development process for the world for the coming 15 years after the expiry of the Millennium Development Goals in December. The new agenda seeks to ad- dress the three dimensions of sustainable development — economic, social and environmental — in a balanced and integrated manner. It lays emphasis on poverty eradication as the biggest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. It is dedicated to providing every person on the planet with food, water, energy, healthcare, housing, jobs and education. “It is people-centred and as- sures rights, freedoms and access to information. It attempts to sustain oceans, forests, agriculture, land ecosystems and the earth’s climate. It lays emphasis on industrialisation, building resilient infrastructure, and ensuring inclusive and sustained economic growth,” said Kenya’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed. “Most importantly, the new agenda defines the requisite means of achieving it through both the financial and non-financial means of implementation.”